My Brother's Keeper
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: Having escaped the First Order on Crait, the Resistance makes plans to regroup and strike back. While Poe and Finn are sent on a covert mission to enlist the aid of an old ally, Rey is left to try and figure out what some old Jedi teachings mean to her.
1. Safe Harbor

**Disclaimer : I do not own Star Wars ****or any of the associated names, places, characters, etc.**

 **This story is set shortly after The Last Jedi and follows my one-shot, Strangers in the Night.**

* * *

It had been two long days since the disastrous evacuation of the planet Crait. Where once there had been a small Resistance fleet and hundreds of brave volunteer soldiers, it was now reduced to a handful for battered and weary survivors who filled the corridors of the old Corellian freighter _Millennium Falcon_. Assured by steadying presence of General Leia Organa, the Resistance survivors and their new allies escaped the clutches of the First Orders and made their way through hyperspace in hopes of finding a safe haven to regroup.

In the main hold of the ship, Poe Dameron sat across the table from his friend Finn as they passed the time playing a game which resembled holographic chess. While they played, the small spherical droid BB-8 sat nearby and swiveled its optical sensors before giving a curious chirp. Poe crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "I know... that's what I've been trying to tell him. Finn, for goodness sake just make a move will you?"

The former stormtrooper sat in deliberate thought while scratching his chin, "Come on Poe, there's no rush here. I'm just being careful and weighing all my options."

Poe sighed and leaned back in his seat impatiently, "Well could you weigh your options a little faster? It never killed anyone to be a little daring and trust their instincts either."

Finn smiled and moved his next piece to take one of Poe's, "Good traits for an X-wing pilot, but not necessarily in a game of strategy."

Poe gave a little scowl as he saw his advantage on the board vanish before the Falcon shuddered and rattled for a moment. Both friends sat up and looked at each other before abandoning their game and heading down the rusty hallways for the freighter's cockpit. On the way, Finn mused aloud, "We must have just dropped out of hyperspace. I wonder what's going on?"

When they reached the cockpit, they found the wookie Chewbacca at the helm along with Rey and General Organa. By the looks of it, the ship had indeed reverted back to realspace as indicated by the blackness of space and the ocean of glittering stars around them. Up ahead, they could also see a planet in the near distance being lit up by the light of the star system's sun. It looked to have a tranquil greenish hue to it. Poe glanced over to Leia curiously, "General?"

The old wizened Resistance leader patted the shoulder of the wookie and gave a relieved smile, "Good work Chewbacca. Thank you."

Chewie gave low gentle vocalization before Leia turned to the others, "Everyone, we're stopping off at the planet of Utapau for repairs and resupply. It's a quiet place in the Outer Rim and the natural terrain should help us stay off the radar of the First Order for a while."

"Utapau? Wasn't that a famous battleground during the old Clone Wars?" Finn asked curiously.

Leia nodded, "It was but ever since the Republic had liberated it, it's been a relatively quiet and peaceful place."

"I assume you know some people there who can help us?" Poe asked.

"I know some people there who can get us get into contact with the help we need," Leia answered. Let me worry about that. As for the rest of you, I want everyone else to focus on getting this ship in a halfway decent state again."

* * *

Some time later, the Millennium Falcon descended into the skies over the planet of Utapau and cruised over its vast green plains and sandy deserts which made up much of the surface. From their vantage point, the crew could see massive sink holes which dotted the surface of the planet leading down to deep underground caverns and sources of water which the civilization of the planet had developed around.

Eventually, the Falcon flew over a particular sinkhole and descended gently into the massive crater where the crew was amazed to see docking bays and civilization built within and around the walls of the canyons. Upon touching down in one such inlet of the crater, the Falcon docked allowing its weary passengers depart to stretch their legs. As Finn walked down the ship's ramp, BB-8 rolled along beside him and looked around before heading off to join Leia while she spoke to some of the natives of Utapau who had come to meet her. As she began to ask for their help and negotiate with them, Finn looked around the busy hangar-like structure hoping to find Rey when he caught sight of some of the other Resistance troops unloading some crates.

To his surprise, he instead saw his new friend Rose Tico clumsily make her way down the gangplank struggling to drag a large empty canister on a small cart. The female mechanic had her right arm already restrained in a sling but it didn't seem to deter her from trying to assist her other comrades. Finn hurried over and immediately steadied the load on the cart, "Rose... hey. What do you think you're doing?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Uhh... helping? General Organa gave us work to do, remember?"

"Yeah, but are you sure it's a good idea for you to be doing this? You got banged up pretty badly back there on Crait, remember? You should be taking it easy and resting up."

The mechanic winced a little and handed off the cart to Finn, "I guess you're right. I am still feeling a bit sore. Do you mind?"

He took the heavy cart and walked with her down the ramp while she gave a faint but sheepish smile, "Thanks... it's kinda nice knowing I've got a big strong guy I can count on for help."

"Uh... sure. Don't mention it," Finn replied awkwardly as they kept walking and fell into a drawn out silence. Between Rose's recovery and their down time on the Falcon, Finn had been actively trying to avoid having the awkward conversation with her about that kiss they had shared back on Crait. It seemed she had made her intentions clear, but he was still a bit surprised and bewildered by the whole thing. Right now, he wondered if it might be a good idea if he talked to Poe about all this.

Aside from being older and more experienced than him, Finn had begun regarding his pilot friend as a sort of older brother figure who he could trust. Then again, how he would even start that conversation would be a bit of a challenge too. Dealing with interpersonal relationships and womens' hearts was certainly something that had not come up during his grueling years of training as a First Order stormtrooper. For now, all he could do was keep busy and try to buy himself enough time to sort things out for himself.

* * *

Sometime later that day, repairs and refitting were under way for the Falcon and the weary Resistance soldiers were given leave to rest for a while during the maintenance. In many ways, General Organa had chosen an ideal planet to hide on. It was remote, quiet, and relatively unwilling to take any particular sides in the modern galactic conflicts which had previously ravaged the world many years ago. It was understood Utapau would only be a brief stop along the way but the other Resistance fighters were still a bit unsure that Leia would really be able to muster enough support from any scattered allies in the Outer Rim. Right now, it was not looking good.

Late that afternoon, Poe walked out toward the edge of the recessed hanger to view the massive sinkhole canyon. The rays of the sun glinted off the rocks above and he could feel the swirling air as it gently whistled by. He closed his eyes in an almost meditative way and took in the unusual moment of calm and peace with the wind before he heard a shuffle of footsteps from behind. To his surprise, he turned and saw Rey approaching carrying her staff. The young woman was still dressed in her new dark bluish attire which somewhat resembled the look of the Jedi of old. Although the others had tried to convince her to dress in some spare practical clothing of the Resistance volunteers, she had been adamant in her decision to do what she wanted.

The young brunette woman tilted her head curiously and asked, "Poe? What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said with a slight chuckle but it was met by a mild frown from her.

"I asked you first."

Poe shrugged and turned back to the canyon walls with a sigh, "Would you believe me if I said I was communing with the Force?"

She crossed her arms, "You have an odd way of doing it then."

Poe smiled to himself, "Actually, I just came out here to get some air. After being cooped up in the Falcon, I needed to get out and see the skies again. I was just thinking how much I miss having my X-wing around... and how much I'll miss flying with some of those people who were lost on the cruiser Raddus."

"You lost your whole squadron?" Rey asked sympathetically but Poe shook his head.

"Technically no. My own flight, the members of Black Squadron were scattered and sent away on some other assignments before D'Qar was evacuated. I only hope they might have gotten our distress signals and are trying to find us so they can help."

Rey nodded quietly and tried to give an optimistic look, "Well, if I can offer something from experience the friends and people we care about tend to find their way back to us in one way or another."

"Speaking of..." Poe remarked in amusement as he saw Finn striding up a ramp of the hangar bay. The younger man gave a wave and greeted his friends with a hesitant nod.

"Poe. Rey. Fancy meeting you guys here."

Poe raised an eyebrow, "Finn? Hey, is everything okay? You look a little... tense. Maybe preoccupied?"

Finn forced a smile and a nervous laugh, "Me? Tense? Naw... come on. I'm a stormtrooper. I'm as cool as ice. But Poe... if you don't mind, I was hoping I could talk to you about something?"

"Yeah sure buddy. What's on your mind?"

Finn gave Rey a pointed look hinting at her to give them some privacy, "It's kinda personal."

"I can take a hint," Rey sighed as she hefted her staff and began walking back inside the large hangers. She was a little annoyed and bothered about being shooed away, but decided to just let it go and find something else to keep her occupied in the mean time... perhaps like going over some of the old Jedi books she had recovered.

Once she had left, Poe turned to his friend, "Finn? What's going on?"

Before Finn could speak, he was interrupted again as the little droid BB-8 rolled up quickly and began to squawk at the two. Poe immediately turned his attention to his astromech partner and his eyes went wide, "What? Really? She said that? Interesting."

BB-8 vocalized again and Poe nodded, "I see... tell her we're on our way."

As the droid rolled off to deliver his new message, Finn scratched his head in confusion, "What is going on now? What did BB-8 just say?"

Poe clapped his friend on the shoulder and moved to return to the hangers, "He says you're being personally summoned by General Organa. It seems she's got a job in mind and thinks you may be able to help us."

"Wait... what? Me?" Finn asked apprehensively.

"Sure. Why not?" Poe teased him gently as he pulled Finn along with him, "You said you were a badass stormtrooper, didn't you? Cool as ice?"

"Oh ha ha. Now you're just mocking me. Don't think I didn't see what you just did there," Finn muttered reluctantly as he was dragged along to a more secure location within the compound.

* * *

A short time later, Finn and Poe were led to what looked to be a large private office and control center overlooking the complex. It offered a view of the hangars from the glass windows while control consoles blinked and flashed nearby. Standing by a large table, Leia Organa waited for the two men along with one of the natives of Utapau. He was a tall gaunt looking alien with a long neck and limbs along with a slightly menacing mouth full of teeth. Despite the slightly fearful visage of these aliens, many offworlders were often surprised to learn that they were generally very mild mannered and non threatening in person. Judging by the alien's robes, he looked to be one of higher rank. Perhaps one in charge of the docking complex or some low level official.

Leia nodded and waved the two men over to join her at the table, "Poe. Finn. Thank you for coming so soon. I wanted to talk with you. I'd like you to meet one of my contacts, Tolin Jeth. He's a local Port Administrator and Resistance sympathizer who has offered to help us."

Poe gave the alien a friendly nod and turned back to Leia, "I don't suppose he could hook us up with any weapons or starfighters, can he?"

Leia shook her head, "No. But he's offered to help us get into contact with someone who can. Tolin has helped me use some back channels to get in touch with an old ally of mine on Bespin... Lando Calrissian."

"The Lando Calrissian?" Poe exclaimed in both shock and wonder, "One of the heroes of Endor? The man is a living legend!"

Leia raised a calming hand, "Cool your jets Poe. This operation is going to be on the more discrete side. Finn, that's where I'm going to need you."

"Me?" Finn asked sounding a little more uncertain than he hoped, "What do you need me to help do General?"

Leia raised a holographic display of the floating metropolis of Cloud City on the gas giant planet of Bespin. Nearby were a few other additional exhibits. "Although Lando has retired from politics and is no longer the governor of Cloud City, he's agreed to help the Resistance rearm itself and send out a call to muster our numbers. If we're going to be doing that, we need a way to keep the First Order off our tails."

Poe nodded, "Right. They can track us through hyperspace now with their new tech, right?"

"Correct, but it's not full-proof either," Leia said with a sly grin, "Stationed on Cloud City is the scientist responsible for developing that new technology, Nicolai Kerensky. According to some of Lando's insider sources within the city, Kerensky's become regretful for aiding the First Order and providing them with the tools. They've made him a very wealthy man, but now the First Order forces are keeping him a virtual prisoner there so that he can continue to develop their weapons whether he wants to or not."

"And you want me to use my knowledge of First Order security protocols to help break Kerensky free?" Finn asked.

Leia nodded, "Yes. A small garrison of First Order troops have taken up residence in the neutral Cloud City hoping they can strong arm it into joining their sphere of influence. I want you and Poe to go and rendezvous with Lando's contact on Bespin. Pluck Kerensky from under the First Order's noses and bring him here. It's my hope he'll be able to develop a countermeasure to jam the tracking devices or throw the enemy off our trails."

"General? Slight problem. How are we supposed to get to Bespin without being noticed?" Poe asked, "I'm sure half the galaxy probably knows of the _Millennium Falcon_ by now."

The alien Tolin cleared his throat, "Allow me to address that Captain Dameron. We can provide you with a small unmarked Y-wing. It's unarmed and an old leftover from the wars with the Empire, but it might still come in handy."

"A Y-wing?" Poe sighed despondently, "Those things are slow as hell... but it's better than nothing."

Leia looked to the two men, "I don't think I need to spell out just how important this assignment is gentlemen. I can't afford to lose any more trusted people."

Poe gave a dutiful salute putting a little more emphasis in his words, "I won't let you down General... neither of us will."

"Then see to it Captain and may the Force be with you both."

After they were dismissed from the office, the two headed back down to the main hanger floor. Finn was still looking a little uncomfortable and turned to Poe, "So... you said you've done this kind of thing before? Like secret meetings and covert ops type missions?"

"Some," Poe shrugged giving a confident grin, "I've been on a few jaunts with my team of fellow pilots in Black Squadron. That said, I guess that means you're going to be one of us now. You should fit right in with Black Squadron and be the perfect man for the job."

Finn glanced at his own skin color and gave a pointed look, "You aren't being funny now, are you?"

"No! I didn't mean like that," Poe answered backpedaling a little, "I meant you've got a lot of knowledge about First Order tech and fitting in with them. That's perfect for being a secret agent."

"Oh... well, if you say so," Finn said while trying to psych himself up for the coming task at hand.

"Don't sweat it buddy. We'll be there and back before you know it," Poe said giving his friend a reassuring clap on the back along with a wink, "That way Rose won't be too worried about you either, right?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Finn said following the pilot out of the turbolift and off toward the docked Falcon sitting across the spaceport.


	2. Wingmen

Early the next morning, Poe and Finn met again with Leia Organa and were given their official mission briefing along with the details of their task on Bespin. Once they arrived, they were to meet with one of Calrissian's lieutenants going by the name of Dev Tavrin who worked around the area being occupied by the First Order. After suiting up in nondescript flight suits and unmarked helmets, the two men were led back to hangers where they were given their means of transportation. Sitting in a corner of the hanger was an old Y-wing starfighter-bomber. The hull was rusted in several spots and the gold paint on the chassis was faded with age from its service with the Rebel Alliance. Despite not having the balanced firepower of the X-wing or the speed and agility of an A-wing, the Y-wings were still very sturdy and there was a reason it was one of the most reliable craft used by the Rebels in their war. This particular model was a two seater allowing for a gunner to sit behind the pilot.

As they made their way to the ladder which led up to the cockpit, BB-8 was being loaded into the rear compartment of the ship to serve as their astromech droid. At the base of the ladder, they were met by both Rey and Rose who waited expectantly for them. Rey was the first to head over to Finn and give her friend a concerned look while squeezing his hand, "I heard General Organa was sending you on a mission. Do be careful Finn."

"I should be back in just a few days," he said trying to reassure her, "I promise. No risks."

Moments later, Rose interrupted and stepped forward with a hesitant expression, "I uh... really wish you didn't have to go so soon Finn. I Know General Organa is counting on you guys, but I'll just be praying you stay safe."

The shorter more heavyset girl reached up and gave him a quick little kiss on the cheek. She cleared her throat, "For luck."

Poe smiled and turned away to give them a moment of privacy before he felt a hand touch the sleeve of his flightsuit. He turned to address Rey who wore an equally concerned look on her face, "Poe, I don't know what your orders are from Leia but I'd like you to make me a promise. Promise me you'll look out for Finn and come back with him safe and sound?"

He paused a moment, thinking back to their conversation in how he felt some guilt over risking other people's lives in the previous battles. He decided he'd start making it up to the others by being protective of his friend Finn. He flashed his outward charm giving a confident nod and a reassuring wink, "Not to worry Rey. I promise. From now on, I'll be my brother's keeper out there, all right?"

She seemed a little more relieved and let him pass, squeezing his forearm with small smile, "Thank you Poe."

The pilot climbed up the ladder to the cockpit and began to strap in, "Hey Finn, time to let your lovely ladies go. We've got a job to do here."

Finn hurried up the ladder and hopped in the rear gunner seat with a slightly red face, "Really?"

"Relax buddy. I'm just busting your chops a little," Poe smiled as he put on his helmet and began to power up the ship.

Rey, Rose, and the hanger crews made room as the Y-wing's repulsors kicked in and it began to slowly taxi out for launch. From the rear, BB-8 let out a string of low whistles before Poe nodded, "I know. It's kind of a hunk of junk, but it's the best we've got. Lay in our course and have the hyperdrive standing by until we leave orbit."

BB-8 called out an affirmative response and Poe throttled out of the hanger. Finn gripped his harnesses as the old Y-wing took off into a steep banking climb, rounding the edge of the canyon before ascending higher into the skies of Utapau. Before long, they'd be off and streaking across the heavens to the gas giant of Bespin.

* * *

Meanwhile on the balcony of a tall building in Cloud City, Lando Calrissian stood looking out over the skyline and the clouds of the gas giant planet they were situated in. The old retired war hero and businessman stood from the edge of his lavish and comfortable condominium pondering over his next move. He stroked his graying mustache and couldn't help but frown thinking over the new developments which weighed down on his heart. Despite having retired from local politics, he was still concerned about the presence of a First Order Star Destroyer which patrolled the upper atmosphere of the planet along with the small garrison of stormtroopers which had set up shop in one of the city's districts.

Although Cloud City had always tried to maintain its neutrality, the local government didn't seem to have the will to speak out and fight against the blatant military presence of an outside power here. It sickened him that Cloud City's government seemed just as weak and ineffectual as that of the now decimated New Republic government... the same one he and his old friends had fought so hard to restore. Now it seemed history was just repeating itself and the Empire had all but returned.

The thing that troubled him the most though was news from Leia about the death of his old friend Han. Hearing that made him think that this was truly the end of an era and it hurt to think he couldn't be there for his friend and someone he considered a brother in arms. Despite the foreboding and futile sounding situation, he decided he wouldn't go down without a fight either and he'd do what he could to help Leia and her friends stand in the way of tyranny returning. His dark thoughts were interrupted as he heard the doors behind him swish open and a younger man in a purple cape entered. He was well groomed and had sharp features. The man stopped and waited expectantly, "I'm here sir, as you requested. I've gone over the plans you've given me."

Lando nodded to one of his aides by the name of Dev Tavrin, "Good. Do you think you and my new friends will be able to spring Kerensky from his confines?"

"I'm confident I can get a good result," Dev nodded with a calm professional air, "I'll be making my way to the landing pads to meet these operatives when they come."

Lando nodded, "Good. Remember... this is very important. The Resistance is counting on all of us to pull this off."

"Yes sir," Dev nodded before turning and heading out the door. Lando turned back to the balcony and folded his hands behind his back. In the mean time, he would have to start making a few other calls and putting in some special orders to people he knew.

* * *

Some time later, Finn continued to sit quietly in the rear gunner's seat of the Y-wing. Because of Utapau's relative proximity to Bespin, the journey by hyperspace was not going to be particularly long trip. The course had already been laid in and the starfighter's navigation systems were taking care of everything, allowing Finn some extra time to go over some of the mission parameters in his head. He had done this many times during his days as a stormtrooper and the harsh command of Captain Phasma had always helped to keep his mind sharp and focused if only because of the fear she inspired. Instead, he was feeling a different kind of fear now. It was one for the Resistance as a whole and an irrational fear of not wanting to let his new companions down.  
That's why he was doing what he was doing now. These people had taken him in and accepted him and for that he would always be grateful. Right now, he couldn't bear the thought of failing General Organa, Poe, or Rey.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Poe turned and called out to him over his shoulder to the backseat, "Hey Finn. Everything okay back there? You've hardly said a word since we left."

"I'm fine," he answered hoping his voice wouldn't give away too much uncertainty, "I... just had a lot on my mind."

"Oh right..." Poe nodded while idly checking his instruments, "That reminds me, wasn't there something you were wanting to talk with me about back on Utapau before the General called us in?"

"Oh... I don't know," Finn said reluctantly.

"Finn, we're sitting here shooting through hyperspace on autopilot. There's nothing to do but talk," Poe reminded him with a patient sigh, "If something's bothering you, you can tell me. We're friends, right? You can trust me."

"Well... yeah," Finn admitted before caving in, "All right. I wanted to talk to you about how I should handle things with Rose."

Poe laughed, "Aha! The truth comes out. She seems to have taken a shine to you bud. She's a nice girl, don't you think?"

"Sure. She's great and all," Finn admitted, "Thing is... I'm not so sure I know how I should handle it. I mean, we're in the middle of a life or death war here and things are all just happening so fast. Hell, even if I wanted to I'm not even sure I'm in the right state of mind to be good relationship material either and..."

Poe chuckled gently, "Whoah! Slow down there Finn. I think you're overthinking everything and getting worked up without needing to. Do you like her? Do you want to spend more time with her? Maybe see this as something that might lead somewhere?"

"I don't know," Finn admitted.

"Okay, so just tell her that. Never hurts to be straight to the point and honest," Poe replied, "Besides, it's not like you're asking the girl to marry you or anything crazy. You're the man here so just be cool about it. You're in control."

"Yeah? You think so?"

"I know so... after all, you're cool as ice," Poe laughed causing his friend to groan again in exasperation.

"Oh very funny. Laugh it up Dameron."

Poe stifled another laugh before idly commenting, "You know, I honestly thought you were going to say you were conflicted because you had a thing for Rey."

Finn paused a moment and frowned. To be honest, he still wasn't exactly sure how he felt about her either and he stopped to consider if that was why he was feeling so uncomfortable with the whole issue. "You thought I had a thing... for her?"

"Yeah maybe. And I wouldn't blame you either," Poe said as he calibrated a few sensors, "She's a pretty girl."

"You think she's pretty?"

"Sure. I told her so myself," Poe admitted only half paying attention.

Finn panicked a little and turned in his seat, "Wait, you what? Poe, you're not interested in her or anything... are you?"

"Relax bud. She's a little on the young side for me so no," Poe said honestly, "Besides... I've got enough to worry about right now as it is."

From the rear astromech compartment of the ship, BB-8 called out a short digitzed response and Poe laughed, "Oh come on now BB-8, show some class. That was a pretty raunchy comment right there."

Finn raised an eyebrow, "What did he say?"

Poe ignored him and flipped a switch nearby, "Well look at that, just in time."

The swirling blue vortex of light from hyperspace quickly gave way to realspace again. The old Y-wing jolted and dropped out of lightspeed placing it near the outer edge of the Bespin system. Finn craned his neck around in the gunner's seat to see the massive yellowish orange gas giant planet which lay dead ahead. The sight was serene, beautiful, and a little intimidating all at the same time. Poe went to work taking the controls and adjusting the nav instruments of the old fighter-bomber, "All right. Laying in a course for Cloud City. Strap in Finn. We might encounter a little turbulence when we skim the upper atmosphere."

With that, the twin nacelles of the starship flared again and the two friends throttled forward toward their new destination and their newest adventure.

* * *

After passing through the upper atmosphere of the planet, the Y-wing cruised through the clouds before making its approach to the floating metropolis of Cloud City. High above, they could also see the menacing visage of a First Order Star Destroyer keeping watch over everything coming in and out of the city. Because they had been given security clearance codes by Lando Calrissian and were flying an unarmed craft, they were left alone by the destroyer some of the TIE fighter patrols which buzzed around from time to time. By now, most Y-wings had been phased out of military use and were relegated to use by private owners and travelers. The fact that the old markings and logos of the Rebel Alliance had been scratched off also worked in their favor to be allowed passage. Still, the sight of such a looming threat in the air didn't help the confidence of Poe and Finn as they cruised along either.

"Let's just get this over with as quickly as possible," Finn said quietly while eyeing the Star Destroyer.

"I agree. I feel like a sitting duck out here," Poe nodded in grim agreement as he angled toward a designated landing pad and leveled off the craft.

After the Y-wing touched down gently, Poe and Finn exited their ship and helped BB-8 out of his compartment too. As they did, the three were greeted by Dev and a pair of other men that looked to be some sort of security guards. Dev strode out confidently with his purple cape billowing in the gentle wind, "Welcome to Cloud City. I take it you are the guests of Mister Calrissian?"

"Depends who's asking," Poe answered carefully slowly moving his hand toward the blaster pistol at his side.

Dev raised his hands to calm Poe and signal for the guards to stand down, "Easy. There's no need for that. I am Dev Tavrin, a security officer working for Mister Calrissian. He told me I was to meet two gentlemen in a Y-wing who were sympathetic to the Resistance... and something about freeing a one Nicolai Kerensky?"

Poe and Finn exchanged a look with each other and nodded before relaxing, "That's right. I'm Poe. Poe Dameron. This is my friend Finn and my droid BB-8."

The little droid piped up with chirp before Dev nodded, "Nice to meet you gentlemen. I was told to bring you to Mister Calrissian so that we can plan our raid on the First Order's installation here. If you would, follow me and try not to draw too much attention here?"

He and his guards led them off the pad and escorted them indoors of the futuristic city. As they walked and marveled at the setup of the unlikely metropolis, they wondered what it would be like to meet such a legendary war hero and if he'd really be able to help get the Resistance back on its feet so that they could fight again. There was no doubt the First Order were not sitting on their hands either and the two comrades only hoped they could pull this mission off and return to their friends on Utapau as quickly as possible.


	3. Infiltration Tactics

After a short walking tour down some city thoroughfares, Poe and Finn were led to an upscale residential building. They rode a turbolift up to one of the highest floors and followed Dev as he led them down the hallways and into a suite where their contact resided. As they were escorted into a tastefully furnished drawing room, they saw an older man with dark colored skin and a trademark mustache on his face. The man rose from his couch and swept back his stylish cape greeting the men with a friendly smile, "Captain Dameron and Mister Finn, welcome to Cloud City and to my humble home. Please make yourselves comfortable."

Finn glanced around the room noting that a lot of the furniture and décor looked to be very expensive but tasteful. Poe stepped forward first and shook hands with their host, "Thank you Mister Calrissian. It's an honor to meet a war hero and a friend of General Organa."

Lando gave a rueful smile and shrugged, "War hero indeed. I had wished those days were behind us but it seems fate is strange. I take it you were greeted warmly by that Star Destroyer on your way in?"

"I'm not sure about a warm greeting," Poe nodded, "But it was a little better than being shot at."

Lando turned to the younger of the two men and shook Finn's hand, "I understand you used to be one of them... a first Order soldier? That could be useful."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Finn replied with sincerity, "You can count on me."

Lando gestured to Dev to go secure the doors, "Glad to hear it. If you gentlemen would follow me? I wanted to show you what I've been working on."

He led them to a table with a small holo projector and activated it. It showed the layout of a city district along with the floor plan of a building. As Dev and his security detail walked back in, Lando pointed to the display, "Leia brought me up to speed and tells me that you two have a task to rescue some scientist by the name of Kerensky, right? I've been able to do some digging in the city's databases and do a little recon in the meantime. As you can see, the First Order has taken control of a district here in the city."

"What's so important about it?" Finn asked.

"There are lots of science labs and industrial buildings nearby which manufacture things from the labs. No doubt the First Order has an interest in upping its game in the war against the Republic."

Poe crossed his arms and studied the building layout, "I'm guessing this specific lab is where we can find Kerensky?"

Lando nodded, "As far as my intel goes, he spends much of his time there and is usually escorted by some armed guards too. Finn, would you happen to have any insight on how the First Order might set things up there?"

Finn studied the layout and scratched his chin in long thought trying to go back to his stormtrooper training. If he could think like them and remember their security tactics, it might be able to give them an edge.

After a minute, he pointed out several points, "Hmm… if I were in charge of security, I would probably post guards here, here, and here, then assign them on these patrol routes."

Poe furrowed his brow while studying the area, "All right. That's a pretty good place to start. The problem is how do we even get in there and get close enough to Kerensky?"

Dev stepped forward and folded his hands, "That is where my men and I come in. We currently operate as hired security for the lab. We should be able to procure some disguises and sneak you in there."

Oh? What kind of disguises did you have in mind?" Finn asked curiously.

* * *

"I look ridiculous in this thing," Finn grumbled quietly as he put on his brimmed cap and followed Poe up the entrance ramp of the lab. Both he and Poe had donned gray jumpsuits and caps to look like janitors while they were being escorted by Dev and his men. While Poe pushed the sanitation cart, he handed Finn a mop with a tense grin.

"Nah. Honestly, I think you'd look a lot more ridiculous wearing your stormtrooper armor while wiping the floors."

Finn sighed and rapped Poe on the side of the head with the mop as they neared the entrance of the lab. As they stopped at the security checkpoint, Dev walked forward to greet the stormtroopers posted there and showed his ID. "We're here to relieve one of the details inside. These janitors are with us to help the next shift."

The stormtrooper guard examined the ID for a moment and eyed the janitors before giving a nod and waving them on, "All right then. Move along."

As they passed the checkpoint, Poe and Finn exchanged a tense look and remained silent while trying to keep their heads down. By now, they had begun to garner a little notoriety as heroes within their own Resistance movement. They only hoped that their names and faces weren't quite as notorious among the ranks of their enemies. Once inside, the group came to a fork in the road. Dev turned to them and spoke quietly, "This is where we part. We'll have to check in at the security office down that hall. You two are to proceed down that other corridor. It should lead you to Kerensky's research lab."

"We've got the layout down," Finn nodded as he adjusted his cap lower.

"Good luck men," Dev nodded before giving a smart nod and leading his men off.

Poe began to push the sanitation cart again, "Come on Finn. Let's get a move on, huh?"

The two men walked quickly and quietly made their way down the sterile well lit hallways made of stainless steel. Finn led the way using his mental image of the floor layout to avoid any other security patrols before they reached a secure wing at the other end of the complex. They stopped at a door with a First Order style security pad.

Poe glanced over his shoulder and reached for the small concealed blaster pistol hidden in the cart, "Crap… now what?"

"Wait… this is familiar tech. I think I can crack this," Finn responded as he pulled out some small tools and began fiddling with the console. Poe kept watch as Finn worked and grabbed a bucket a mop when he heard the footfalls of some patrolling guards. Thinking quickly, Poe dumped some of the soapy solution from a bucket and began to furiously mop up the hallway where the guards were approaching. Moments later, a pair of stormtroopers rounded the corner but were stopped by Poe.

Poe pointed to the messy floor and held up a hand while wearing an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry guys. You might have to come back in a little while. The floor's really wet and slippery right now. You don't want to fall and hurt yourselves, right?"

The stormtroopers exchanged a look and shrugged before one of them gave a grumble, "Whatever you have to do, hurry it up."

Poe lowered his head submissively and watched the annoyed stormtroopers walk back down the hallway before leaving the wing. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to Finn, "Well?"

His younger friend gave a smile and nod as he disabled the panel and unlocked the door, "We're in. And thanks for the save."

Poe grabbed Finn's arm and pulled him along, "Yeah, well let's hurry. I doubt those troopers are going to wait around forever."

Eventually, they came to a large well lit laboratory with all sorts of odd looking electronic devices scattered about the tables and workstations. Standing at one of the tables was an older middle aged man with short graying hair wearing a lab coat. He had a thin lanky build and looked up with a startled expression as he dropped some of his instruments. He adjusted his glasses and said in a meek voice, "Who… who are you? What's going on?"

Finn stepped forward, "Dr. Nicolai Kerensky?"

"That's right."

"I'm Finn. This is Poe. We're here to rescue you."

Dr. Kerensky blinked in confusion toward what he thought were the janitors, "What? From garbage?"

"We're with the Resistance," Poe cut in impatiently, "We need you to help fight the First Order but first we've got to get you out of here. You're on our side, aren't you?"

The scientist gave a startled nod, "I… yes of course, but how did you…"

"No time to explain. Come with us," Finn said quickly while taking Kerensky by the arm.

They brought him back to the empty sanitation cart and had him crouch down to hide inside of it. Poe and Finn secured the latch and began quickly head back down the hall to make their escape. Once they escaped out of a side exit of the labs and into an alley, the two grabbed their weapons and stripped out of their disguises before freeing Kerensky.

The flustered doctor gave them a look of wide eyed awe, "I swear… you two must be insane to have pulled this off. Thank you."

"Don't thank us yet," Poe said grimly as they were met by Dev Tavrin at their designated rendezvous point again. "Wait until we get off the planet. Then you can pay us back."

Dev eyed the two Resistance fighters and gave a grim nod as they exited the alley and made their way onto a street corner away from the science lab complex, "Good. You've got Kerensky. I've got a hovercraft lined up to take us directly to the spaceport. Mister Calrissian should be waiting for you there."

No sooner did he say that, a hovercar pulled up and opened its door to them to allow them their escape vehicle. Finn glanced back over his shoulder and gave a worried frown, "I don't know. This whole thing went off without a hitch. I hate to think it was almost too easy."

"Let's try not to look a gift horse in the mouth, eh?" Poe replied pulling his friend into the car and slamming the door. With that, the hovercar sped away for the spaceport with the First Order stormtroopers none the wiser.

* * *

After a short drive across the city, the four exited the car at some private docking bays of the spaceport. In this particular area of the port, it was much less crowded and more discreet which suited the Resistance fighters just fine. As they made their way to the domes which led to the docking platforms, they came across the familiar face of Lando Calrissian waiting for them in the quiet terminal. The old general of the Rebel Alliance grinned when he saw the four stride up him and he shook Poe and Finn's hands, "Well I'll be… very impressive work boys. I can see why Leia put so much trust in you two. Well done."

Lando turned to the nervous looking scientist in their company and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Dr. Kerensky? I am…"

"Lando Calrissian? Oh I know who you are sir," Kerensky sighed in relief as he smiled, "If this is your doing… then thank you. Thank you for getting me free of the First Order."

Lando kept his gaze leveled on him, "You're welcome doctor, but we've still got to get you off the planet. I've got a shuttle waiting in a nearby docking pad. I need you to follow these two Resistance fighters and do what they say. They'll get you to a friend of mine, Leia Organa. She will be in need your help."

"Of course!" Kerensky nodded emphatically.

"Hold it Mister Calrissian. I'm not so sure this is going to end the way you think," Dev said as he quickly pulled a blaster pistol from his side holster and aimed it at Kerensky.

"Dev? What the hell is going on?" Lando exclaimed in surprised outrage as Poe and Finn both drew their own pistols and tried to round on Dev.

The traitorous security guard smiled and primed his weapon, "Hold it right there boys. Not another move or I shoot the good doctor where he stands."

Moments later, a platoon of First Order stormtroopers left their hiding places and converged on the spaceport atrium to ambush their enemies. Poe and Finn aimed their blasters around but stopped when they realized they were completely surrounded and hopelessly outgunned. Dev laughed again and wore a triumphant smile mocking the two Resistance operatives, "And you were so close too."

"What is the meaning of this?" Lando growled, "You were a double agent? You sold us out to the First Order?"

Dev smirked, "That's right Mister Calrissian. Look around you. This New Republic you worked so hard to set up is weak and useless. Their politicians are all cowardly sheep who let themselves be slaughtered at Hosnia."

"So you're doing this out of patriotism? To preserve Bespin?" Lando snorted derisively.

"I'm doing it to protect Cloud City's best interests," Dev said, "The First Order is going to be the next great power in the galaxy and we'd do well to play nicely with them. I want to be on the winning side."

"And you think that by collaborating and rooting out some high profile Republic sympathizers that you'll be on the fast track to power when the First Order completely takes over?"

"You're a smart man," Dev replied with a sinister chuckle, "I can see why you held such a position of authority here for so long. Too bad it wasn't enough to help you see in a traitor within your own midst."

"Oh I know a thing or two about being double-crossed," Lando spat venomously recalling an old deal he had made in the past with the infamous Darth Vader, "You're just forgetting one thing."

"Oh? What's that?" Dev asked.

Lando smiled and revealed a small radio transmitter he had been holding, "I love to gamble and play games of chance. If there's one thing I learned, it's to always keep an extra card up your sleeve. Do it now little guy!"

From one of the side hallways leading to the escape shuttle, BB-8 rolled down the ramp and plugged into the wall with one of his electronic socket tools. With a little system manipulation, the little astromech droid activated the dome's internal sprinkler systems. The sudden distraction and spray of water from above surprised all the stormtroopers and momentarily blinded them while Lando drew a small pistol from under his own cape. He fired a quick shot that hit Dev in the side and dropped the man before Lando ducked to avoid a wild shot from a panicked trooper. As the old war hero rolled on the ground, he fired again and gunned down another First Order soldier "Poe! Finn! Get Kerensky out of here!"

Poe and Finn both discharged their weapons and took down another stormtrooper apiece before they turned and ran with the terrified scientist in tow. Amid the sprinklers and the chaotic storm of blaster shots which were now tearing up the atrium, Poe and Finn hurried toward the docking bay only to see the hanger doors automatically close from an emergency shut down procedure. Unfortunately, it blocked their way to the shuttle and to BB-8 who was scrambling to try and override it.

"Now what?" Finn exclaimed in horror as they saw the stormtroopers regroup and hurry down the hallway after them.

Poe led the others down a side passageway to where their old Y-wing was still parked on another landing pad. As they made their way toward the edge of the hanger, they stopped at the entry hatch leading outward. A few stray shots rang out clipping the edges of the doorway as the three took cover. Poe and Finn returned fire to slow down the enemy before Finn called out, "Poe! You get out of here with Dr. Kerensky! Finish the mission."

"What? And leave you behind?" Poe exclaimed in horror while firing another shot from his pistol, "No way! Not going to happen!"

"Damn it, just think for a minute Poe!" Finn growled impatiently while he continued to lay down covering fire, "There's only two seats in that Y-wing. Leia is counting on us to get Kerensky out of here and you're the only one who can fly that thing!"

Poe clenched his fists in frustration realizing that Finn was right and there was no debating his logic. To make matters worse, he took a moment to remember the promise he made to Rey back on Utapau… that he would protect Finn and bring them back safely. He had already sent enough people to their deaths and he sure as hell was not going to lose another valuable life so needlessly either. He wasn't going to break his promise to Rey and he wasn't going leave his friend to the wolves here either. "No."

Finn incredulously glared at him amid the blaster fire around them, "No? What do you mean, no?"

"I'm not leaving you! There has to be a better way!" Poe answered heatedly while furiously trying to come up with another plan.

What happened next rendered the point moot as a stormtrooper armed with a rocket launcher crouched and fired a projectile from down the hall. Instead of hitting the doors where the Resistance fighters were, the rocket streaked past and hit the parked Y-wing instead. The old rickety starship exploded in a violent blast which shook the hangers and threw Poe, Finn, and Kerensky in separate directions.

As stars flooded Poe's field of vision, he could vaguely sense the stormtroopers rush down the hall while fire and shrapnel rained down in the hanger. He could feel the heat of the flames nearby and as Poe rolled over, he could see the motionless forms of Finn and Kerensky laying nearby. If they were dead or unconscious, he couldn't tell. In his foggy vision, he saw a stormtrooper loom over him and give a blank glare, "You're not getting away. You're coming with us Rebel scum."

The pilot felt the stormtrooper's boot connect with his head and his whole world went dark.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **To the Guest reviewer from the prior chapter, yes. I am well aware of the popularity of "Stormpilot" fics out there. Even though slash-fiction personally isn't my thing, if other people like it, that's perfectly fine too. I'll just think of this story as writing for a minority who might see Poe and Finn as just having a best-friend/brotherly type of relationship bond. Thanks for the comment!**


	4. Friends in Need

Meanwhile on the planet of Utapau, Rey sat in a quieter outdoor canyon observatory paging through one of the old books she had recovered from the Jedi temple on Luke Skywalker's island. The texts were quite old and she had taken some time to scan several pages through some computers hoping to clean up the grammar and translate it into something more modern and understandable. While these particular pages had mostly gone through the translator with success, it was still slow going in trying to decipher the cryptic meanings of the Jedi philosophies. For a simple girl who had grown up as a poor scavenger on a desert world, Rey had always preferred to rely on her intuition and senses rather than waste time with arcane and esoteric philosophies of an ancient religion.

She furrowed her brows and rubbed her temples barely noticing the other young woman who came down to sit beside her on the bench. Rose Tico gave a friendly wave and placed a small metal lunch pail down between them, "Hi Rey… would you mind a little company?"

Rey sighed and closed her translated notes inside the book, "Not at all. Take a seat."

Rose sat down and offered some of her lunch but Rey shook her head and politely declined. Rose gave a curious look and peeked over, "So… what are you reading? Anything interesting?"

"I'm not sure I'd call ancient Jedi philosophy interesting," Rey muttered in dismay.

Rose nodded and began to eat a sandwich, "Oh right… you mentioned before that you went to see Master Skywalker so you could learn to be like him, didn't you?"

"I did. I just had no idea all this reading and writing was part of being a Jedi either," Rey admitted in dismay, "I was never really one for books and schooling."

"I see. Well, any gems of wisdom in there so far?" Rose asked curiously.

Rey frowned thoughtfully, "I'm not sure yet. The passages I'm reading talk a lot about how the Jedi viewed things like emotion and attachment. If I'm reading it right, they tended to try and avoid it."

"Really? Why?"

Rey shrugged, "It seems like they were really worried about falling to the Dark Side of the Force by giving into emotions like anger or hate, or even fear of losing someone you love."

"So the Jedi weren't even allowed to feel love?" Rose asked with a troubled look, "That sounds horrible. If you want to be a Jedi you don't seriously buy into that, do you?"

Rey chewed her lip in thought, "I… don't know exactly. I mostly grew up alone so it's not like I really have any family or people I'd be afraid to lose."

"But what about your friends?" Rose asked, "You have some people here, don't you?"

Rey remained uncertain thinking about how she almost related a little to Ben Solo; being steeped in the Force and Jedi tradition while also feeling very much alone inside. Rose sighed and continued, "In my opinion, I think some of those old Jedi teachings are garbage. If the Jedi were so smart, then see how well that turned out for them."

"Rose…"

"No. I'm not done yet," the female mechanic said, "I think it's a silly thing to close off your emotions and try to be like a robot. I think it's silly to deny the way you feel about people and the chance to enjoy life with them. I think there's an argument to be made that things like love and emotion can be a source of great strength too."

"You think so?"

Rose nodded, "I've already lost my sister in this war Rey. When I think about her fighting the enemy to protect us, I still have feelings of hate toward the First Order and that makes me want to cry. But I'm also grateful for having those feelings about my sister too. If I didn't, I wouldn't have mustered up the courage to join Finn and try to help the Resistance in the way that I did. I've already done some crazy stuff and I've seen a completely different side of me come out. I used to be afraid of my own shadow and there I was standing toe to toe with a bunch of stormtroopers in a firefight."

"I guess I kinda know the feeling," Rey smiled in agreement.

Rose looked away for a moment, "Those feelings also make me want to be strong so that I can help protect the things and people I love too."

"You're not actually talking about Finn now, are you?" Rey asked while raising an eyebrow.

Rose nodded sheepishly, "I know... I admit, it's kinda silly and maybe a little romantic of me, but it's true. He's a good guy who makes me feel things I never have before. He makes me want to be better and stronger, you know?"

Rey furrowed her brow again and shrugged, "I guess. Maybe you have a point there."

Rose gave Rey a sisterly pat on the shoulder and rose from the bench as she finished her lunch, "Just think about it Rey. Maybe there's some wiggle room to amend that old Jedi code and maybe if you found the right person who made you feel the same way, perhaps you'd understand too."

As Rose left the observatory, Rey sat in silence and glanced at her Jedi tome before setting it down and gazing out over the canyon with a long conflicted sigh.

* * *

When Poe finally came to, he groaned and rolled over on the cold hard floor. As he cracked his eyes open and tried to shake off a dull throbbing headache, he saw the form of Lando Calrissian pacing around what looked to be some sort of jail cell. Poe sensed a pair of hands reach down and help him up to a sitting position while giving some support. It was Finn. The younger man gave his shoulder a nudge, "Poe? Hey... are you okay?"

"I've been better," Poe mumbled as he stumbled to his feet and made his way over to a small bench to lean against the wall, "Where are we?"

"In a Cloud City detention center," Lando answered unhappily as he gave a sigh, "Seems the First Order commandeered this little prison and is keeping us here for the time being. I imagine they'll have someone come later to ship us off to that Star Destroyer over the city."

He grimaced and touched a force field barrier keeping them in, "For now, we're trapped behind a force field cell. Over across the hall there is Kerensky too."

Poe rubbed his head and gave a weary nod, "Mr. Calrissian? I didn't know you'd even be here still. I thought you might have been gunned down at the spaceport."

"I've been in a lot worse gunfights before kiddo," Lando said idly before sitting down and taking a rest. "It'll take a lot more than that to put me down."

"We've got to find a way out of here," Poe muttered trying to rise but Finn restrained him and forced him back in his seat.

"You're not going anywhere. You need to rest right now and get your head on straight."

Poe glanced over and saw Finn giving a pointed frown, "What's with the look? It's like your mad at me or something."

"I'm not giving you a look."

"That's a look," Poe bickered in reply, "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm kinda mad at you right now," Finn huffed indignantly, "Back at the landing pad, you had a chance to get out of here with Kerensky. You ignored me and just blew our chances at getting that cloaking tech back to General Organa."

"Because you were being an idiot," Poe retorted, "You think sacrificing yourself like that is the way either? No. I wouldn't let you do that."

"Well a lot of good that did," Finn answered in agitation, "Now we're both going to be strung up by the First Order and probably die some slow horrible death."

"We've been through this before. We'll figure something out," Poe sighed but Finn was not having it.

"Have you completely lost your senses man? We had one job to do and that was to save the lives of the other Resistance members."

Poe fixed his younger friend with an equally firm glare, "And I'm going to, but asking you to throw away your life isn't how we're going to do it. After D'Qar, I made a personal vow to protect the lives of my friends and I made a personal promise to Rey to look out for you... and to bring you home safe."

Finn stopped and calmed down slightly, "She... she made you promise that? She really said that?"

"She seems to care about you a great deal," Poe nodded, "And so do I. You're a member of my squadron now... one of my wingmen, and I'd never let any harm come to you if I could help it."

Finn relented and sat down beside Poe in silence, "I... don't know what to say. Thank you Poe."

The ex-stormtrooper slowly extended a hand and the Resistance pilot took it giving it a strong shake to quietly reaffirm their friendship to each other. From where he was sitting in the cell, Lando smiled quietly, "You know, in a funny way, you two are kinda making me think of the way my buddy Han and I were when we were younger. The man drove me nuts at times, but he was like a brother to me and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't die for him too."

"I take it I'm like you then," Finn said to Lando with a light smile, "The better looking one with the voice of common sense and reason?"

Lando gave a loud laugh while Poe simply rolled his eyes and accepted Finn's teasing jabs.

"All right, ha ha. You got me there. But let's get serious for a minute. How are we going to get out of here?"

Finn turned to Lando, "You wouldn't happen to have any more friends on the outside who can come to help us, do you?"

Lando grimaced, "I kind of do, but the problem is I have no way to contact them. They should already be on their way, but I was expecting we'd be clear of Bespin by now. I'm not going risk having them try to get past that Star Destroyer over the city."

"Great," Finn sighed while slumping against the wall, "It's times like this I wish I was sharing a cell with another code-breaker."

"You might not want to jinx that last sentence," Poe pointed out as they heard a light banging sound coming from a ventilation shaft on the wall outside the prison cells. All the commotion drew the attention of two armed stormtroopers who were standing guard and they walked over to the hatch.

The first guard looked to the prisoners and snarled, "Quiet down! Stand back!"

The other bent down to investigate the rattling ventilation grate and frowned in confusion, "What the... is that a..."

The two stormtroopers jumped back in surprise as they saw a round spherical droid with orange and white coloring burst through the hatch and roll onto the floor of the prison block. They fumbled for their laser carbines while one called out, "Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The droid gave a digitized retort and began to roll forward as Finn broke out in a surprised grin, "BB-8!"

"Blast him!" the other stormtrooper called as he and his partner opened fire. Because of the droid's low profile and mobility, the laser shots missed and BB-8 surged forward before deploying its short range grappling cables to the ceiling above. The cables latched onto some pipes and BB-8 used his momentum to lift himself up and swing forward like a miniature wrecking ball.

The sudden move caught the stortroopers completely by surprise as they were both clobbered in the head by the swinging droid. The raw impact was enough to bowl them over and knock the troopers out cold. The little droid rolled off its victims and vocalized again before turning to see his beloved owner trapped in the cell. Poe pointed to one of the unconscious stormtroopers and their side pocket, "Go for the keycard."

BB-8 deployed its cigarette lighter appendage, responding with its version of a thumbs up before it plucked a keycard from one of the fallen troopers. The droid rolled over and inserted it into the panel of the cell to deactivate the force field cage. Poe immediately rushed over and picked up his droid, embracing it in an overjoyed hug, "BB-8! You saved us! That was incredible! When we get back to the base, I promise I'll give you whatever new upgrades you want."

As Finn came over to pat BB-8 on the head and thank him too, Lando stood aside crossing his arms with a smile watching as two grown men laughed and treated their droid companion just like they would a little puppy dog. Once the euphoria died down, Lando cleared his throat and picked up the carbines from the guards. "Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt the little reunion, but we still have a job to do."

Lando handed the rifles to the two younger men and used the other keycard to deactivate the force field around Dr. Kerensky's cell, "Doctor, would you care to join us?"

Kerensky gave a flustered nod and followed the men out of the cell block along with BB-8. As Poe and Finn led the way with their rifles at the ready, Lando guided them from the second rank, "Follow my directions. If we are where I think we are, we should be able to get to a spaceport platform and get out of here."

"You have another ship?" Finn asked in surprise.

"We could always borrow one if you know what I mean," Lando replied with a grim smile.

Poe nodded, "All right, whatever it takes. We all leave Cloud City together or not at all. Show us the way Mr. Calrissian."

* * *

Some time later, the small Resistance group made their escape as discreetly as possible and slipped into the busy crowds to blend in. Despite looking over their shoulders at every turn, the group followed Lando until they came to another parking dome where starships were docked. Despite the First Order having control of a district of the city, it wasn't uncommon to see their shuttles and landing craft temporarily parked in other areas of the city either while on business.

They entered the building and took the turbolift up to the top of the dome where the docking pads were and found a small First Order transport craft docked for refueling. The crew looked to have left for the time being leaving another pair of stormtroopers to guard the ship. Kerensky glanced over to Lando and asked in a nervous voice, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Relax," Lando smiled with a confident wink, "Just stand back and let the boys and I handle this."

As they approached the transport, Lando extended his hands toward the troopers, "Pardon me boys. I'm afraid there's a little problem here. Seems you're illegally parked."

The troopers exchanged a puzzled look with one another before raising their rifles toward Lando but the Resistance fighters were too quick. Poe and Finn raised their guns and blasted both stormtroopers aside sending them toppling to the ground. Finn covered the loading ramp as the others hurried up the shuttle, "Come on! Let's get a move on before they raise an alarm."

Once inside the craft, Poe sat down in the pilot's seat while Finn took the shotgun seat. As he strapped in, Finn reached down and picked up BB-8, placing the droid on his lap and securing him from rolling around. BB-8 chirped a short statement and Finn shrugged. He didn't understand the little robot but he could recognize the feeling behind the tone, "I know buddy. I'm kinda scared too."

As Poe fumbled around with the controls and went through a fast startup procedure, Kerensky looked around skeptically, "Do you think you know how to fly this ship?"

"Of course," Poe said with a mixture of impatience and agitation while thinking back to his and Finn's escape on a stolen TIE fighter, "I can fly anything."

"He's not joking," Finn agreed, "But just try not to get hit by any missiles this time, huh?"

"Now's not a good time to heckle me," Poe warned him before he succeeded in powering on the shuttlecraft, "Aha! We're in business!"

"Not a moment too soon," Lando remarked as more stormtroopers hurried out onto the docking pad and began firing their rifles at the rear of the shuttle. The attacks were useless against the heavy hull plating and as the engines flared, the troopers were all blown backwards in the engine-wash.

Finn gave a loud cheer as the shuttle opened its wings and the stolen spacecraft roared out of the hanger with the escapees. Poe gripped the controls and took the shuttle in a steep climb while setting the engines on full power. Kerensky gripped his chair and held his breath looking green in the face at the death defying experience. As they shuttle departed the airspace of Cloud City, it climbed higher making a fast break for the upper atmosphere of the planet. If they could get clear of Bespin's gravity, they could make a hyperspace jump out and flee back to Utapau.

"Hang on, we're not out of the woods just yet," Lando remarked as he checked a side console and then pointed out the menacing enemy Star Destroyer looming overhead from the clouds.

Finn held his breath and gripped his seat, "You guys don't think they know what's going... do you?"

Poe glanced down as he suddenly saw the shuttle's HUD warning light go on signalling that they were being targeted. Moments later, they saw a volley of green laser blasts rain down from the destroyer's cannons. He swerved away in an evasive maneuver and replied with a grim smile, "I could be wrong, but I have a feeling they might have just caught on."

Another hail of enemy fire rained down on the fleeing shuttle and Poe deftly maneuvered the craft clear again but just barely. As the crew was jostled about, BB-8 called out in a panicked tone voicing his own dread. Finn gripped his harness and growled, "Damn! We're too slow. We're not going to make it clear in time."

"Sensors have a new flight of TIE fighters coming in from 10 o'clock high," Lando called out from his sensor screen.

Poe struggled to maneuver with the sluggish controls of the heavy shuttle taking short breaths, "Well guys, looks like we've got a full dance card."

As the enemy TIE fighters bore down on the shuttle like a pack of hungry wolves, they were surprised as a handful of X-wing fighters emerged from the thick clouds above and blindsided them with a hail of laser bolts. Several TIE fighters were shredded apart in the surprise attack while the survivors scattered and took evasive maneuvers. As Poe, Finn, and the others watched in slack jawed amazement at the sudden appearance of some allied fighters, a female voice came in over the comms, "Think you can squeeze us in for a dance?"

An X-wing with a blue painted stripe down its fuselage zipped by and chased off a few TIEs before coming around in an escorting pattern. Poe grinned from ear to ear and laughed, "Jessika Pava, I've never been more happy to hear your voice!"

He recognized the voice of one of his closest friends and wingmates from Black Squadron as she and some of the others checked in, voicing their support. "Hang on Poe, we've got you covered."

Lando gave a whoop and pumped a fist, "I knew they'd do it!"

Fin glanced over in shock, "Are these the friends you were talking about?"

Lando grinned and gave a nod as the stolen shuttle and the X-wings throttled up and evaded the airspace of the Star Destroyer. As they climbed higher and broke through the clouds of the gas giant, Finn could see a Nebulon-B escort frigate sitting in low orbit over the planet waiting for its rescue party to return. "I might have been able to get into contact with a couple of Resistance cells and had them send help. It's not much, but a frigate and a wing of fighters isn't a bad start."

BB-8 gave his own little cheer while Dr. Kerenesky looked like he was ready to pass out from the sheer adrenaline of the escape. The Resistance X-wings quickly made their way into the open hanger bays of the frigate followed by the shuttle. As they taxied in and touched down on the landing deck, Poe heard Jessika ask him over the comm, "What's going on here Poe? Where are we headed to?"

"Long story Jess," he replied while clapping a hand on Finn's shoulder, "Right now, we need to get moving and rendezvous with General Organa. Let's lay in a course for Utapau and bring the welcome wagon."

"Roger that," she answered cutting off the comm link.

With all its passengers and fighters safely aboard, the Resistance frigate powered its main drive engines and left the orbit of Bespin. Despite the attempts of the slower and heavier Star Destroyer to ascend and give chase, it was a futile effort as the frigate laid in its next coordinates and rocketed away into the safety of hyperspace.


	5. Rebels Resurgent

Back on the planet of Utapau, Rey stood at edge of the canyon hangers and looked up into the clear skies. She wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly. Perhaps it was answers to her questions, or a sign that Finn and Poe were returning safely, or maybe even some sign from Master Skywalker... wherever he was now. Honestly, she wasn't even certain right now if she was even trying to commune with the Force correctly. It's not like she had learned all that much from Master Skywalker to begin with.

As he held her gaze up into the heavens, she paused and felt her blood run cold when she saw three large dagger shaped objects suddenly appear in the skies. To her horror, three First Order Star Destroyers had just jumped into the Utapau system from hyperspace. She wasn't certain how, but it seemed like one way or another, their enemies had tracked them to their refuge here. Rey immediately took off running to find Leia and the rest of the Resistance survivors, desperately hoping that she could round them up in time. She shouted panicked warnings causing everyone in the hangers to stop and stare at her before realizing they were in danger of attack too.

* * *

As the Resistance scrambled to board the Falcon, Chewbacca powered the engines and Leia took a seat beside him in the copilot's seat. Once everyone was aboard, they closed the hatches and made ready to flee. Rey and Rose took up seats in the gunner chairs of the freighter and donned their headsets. Rey called in to the helm, "General? Finn and Poe are still gone. Do we really have to leave without them?"

Leia grimaced, "I'm sorry Rey. There's nothing we can do about that. Our first responsibility is to the lives of the others here. Chewie, can you get us out of here?"

The wookie gave a low unhappy howl before releasing the docking clamps and steering the ship out of the hangers. They had been on Utapau for a few days and while the Falcon was about eighty percent restored, they couldn't risk waiting any longer. It wasn't an ideal situation, but there was no choice. They had to run or face destruction.

The Falcon took off from the canyon and ascended high into the air hoping to reach the upper atmosphere of the planet before the enemy destroyers could block their route. As they climbed, Leia did a quick scan and felt her heart stop in her chest. One of the destroyers in the enemy formation was an Interdictor class warship. Although it was comparatively smaller and less heavily armed than its sister ships, the Interdictors could use special projector domes on their hull to create artificial gravity wells and prevent enemy ships from escaping into hyperspace. While it was true the Falcon could probably still be tracked, the presence of the Interdictor only made things worse and forced them to be all the more vulnerable to attack.

"It's no use!" Rey cried from the gunner's chair as she swiveled it around and looked to the skies in despair, "We're never going to make it past that blockade!"

As the Falcon skirted the edge of Utapau's upper atmosphere, the Resistance crew could see that she was right. Two First Order Star Destroyers were bearing down on them from high orbit along with the smaller Interdictor class vessel. To make matters worse, TIE fighters were being scrambled and a wing of the enemy fighter craft sortied out to meet the rebels as well.

Chewbacca gave an anguished roar as Leia kept her eyes fixed on the skies feeling her heart sink. She refused to accept that this was where it was all going to end. She had been fighting too long and too hard to have it go this way, but if that's the way it had to be, she planned to order her Resistance fighters to fight tooth and nail to the very end. Rose held on to one of the pipes of the ship for support before calling out to Leia, "General Organa? What should we do?"

"We prepare to make our stand here. If we die, then we're going to do it fighting!"

Chewie roared an affirmative and piloted the Falcon to meet the incoming TIEs while Rey swallowed hard and gripped the gunner's controls in dread.

"No need to write any eulogies just yet Your Highness. Help is on the way!" came a familiar voice over the comm-link as Leia's eyes went wide with shock.

Moments later, a Nebulon-B frigate jumped out of hyperspace followed by a mixed squadron of X-wing and A-wing starfighters. Leia looked up in shock to see the escort frigate open fire from nearby with its point defense guns causing the incoming TIE fighters to break formation and scramble in a disorganized swarm, "Lando? Lando Calrissian? Is that really you?"

"You'd better believe it General and I've brought some friends along to help," Lando grinned from a support station on the bridge of the frigate. Nearby, Finn stood manning a comm station to help direct air traffic.

"Millennium Falcon, head for the frigate's landing bay. We'll cover your approach!"

Rey nearly fell out of her chair and gave a happy smile, "Finn! You're okay! But the destroyers and the TIE fighters…"

"Let us take care of that one," Poe cut in over the comms smiling from the helm of his new X-wing. It didn't have the same black and orange paint as his old ship but for the time being, this red striped fighter was better than nothing. As the Resistance fighters throttled forward, they locked their S-foils in attack positions and charged their weapons.

Poe signaled the rest of the squadron, "All right, Red flight, Blue flight form up on me and prepare to commence attack. Go straight at them, don't let those thugs scare you!"

"Copy that Red Leader," the commander of Blue flight answered.

"We're with you Poe," his wingmate Jess Pava agreed following from close behind.

From his rear compartment, BB-8 voiced some added encouragement and gave a whistle. Poe smiled, "I hear you little buddy. It's good to be back in the saddle again. Now let's take it to the bad guys!"

The Resistance fighters roared forward and pounced on the disorganized TIEs causing the skies to erupt into a chaotic aerial melee of laser bolts and spacial contrails. As the X-wings cleared the way, the Millennium Falcon wove through the traffic and pushed forward while Rey laid down a withering spray of fire from the freighter's gun port. Amid the fierce dogfight, Blue group broke off and made a beeline for the Interdictor class destroyer. The leader of Blue group who was flying an A-wing interceptor signaled his fellow A-wings to peel off on his command while the X-wings of Blue group followed close behind.

"A-wings, you know what to do," their leader called as they split off in several directions and drew away the intercepting fire from the destroyer.

While the Interdictor found its firepower suddenly being divided and scattered, the X-wings followed up with their own strike launching withering volleys of ion torpedoes. The specialized warheads streaked toward their target and struck home, overloading the destroyer's forward shields and sending waves of highly concentrated ionic particles into the ship itself. While the torpedoes were not designed to do a lot of physical damage, their purpose was to send debilitating power surges through the electronics of enemy capital ships and completely disable their systems.

As Blue group broke off its attack, the Interdictor's artificial gravity well projectors shut down and the ship ground to a screeching halt. Aside from emergency life support systems, the Interdictor was knocked out of the fight and drifted all but helpless in the wake of the rapid attack.

From his console, Finn watched as the Falcon made its way to the frigate and quickly docked itself in one of the hanger bays. He gave a nod to Lando, "Docking operation is complete. We have the Falcon."

Lando nodded and turned to Dr. Kerensky who had now entered the bridge with a modified device he had been working on during the trip back to Utapau. "Please tell me that cloaking device is ready to go Doc."

Kerensky nodded and slotted it in to the nearest navigation console while the captain of the frigate continued to coordinate the flow of the battle raging outside. "It is, but I'm going to need a couple more minutes to get this completely online."

Finn reached back to his comm, "Poe, we need you guys to buy us a little extra time. Stay close to the frigate and keep the TIEs off our backs before we can make our jump."

"Roger that," Poe answered as he hit his brakes and did an aileron roll over a pursuing TIE fighter. The enemy TIE was completely shocked at the counter maneuver before Poe shot it down with a well placed pair of blaster bolts, "Blue flight, make for the hangers! Red flight, we're covering the retreat! Jess, you're with me!"

His female wingmate rejoined him and the two did an impressive series of combat flying maneuvers that almost resembled a sort of choreographed aerial ballet dance. The two X-wings somersaulted and rolled around each other shooting down several TIE fighters before they finished their performance. They each fired a pair of concussion missiles that blew the wings clean off a duo of unlucky TIE Interceptors sending them into fiery death spirals before exploding into a cloud of shrapnel. As the two wingmates swooped clear and angled back toward the frigate, Jess radioed over with an airy laugh, "Why Commander Dameron, you dance divinely."

"You're not so bad yourself," Poe smiled as the rest of Red flight cleared he way and rejoined them in formation.

By now, the TIE fighters were in a rout and the ones who hadn't been shredded apart by the aces of the Resistance squadron turned tail in full retreat. Finn radioed in to the rest of Red flight and gave a thumbs up, "All right, Kerensky's got his little toy all set up. Let's get out of here Poe."

"You heard the man. Red flight, let's pack it in and get the hell out of here," Poe nodded as the rest of the X-wings quickly headed for the safety of the frigate's hanger bays.

From the bridge of the two remaining Star Destroyers, the young red haired General Armitage Hux stood at rigid attention with a stony expression while watching the First Order's naval forces get embarrassed yet again. One of the bridge officers hesitantly approached and cleared his throat, "General... the TIE fighters are in retreat and the enemy is preparing to make a hyperspace jump."

Hux scowled, "Commander, prepare to track that frigate. I will not let Kylo Ren's forces find the Resistance first and steal the honor of destroying them. We won't let those rebels escape this time. It ends today!"

While the Star Destroyers made ready to give chase, Dr. Kerensky gave a thumbs up from his workstation to Lando and he turned to Finn. Finn looked up in relief, "The X-wings are aboard. Let's get out of here."

Lando held his breath and signaled the captain of the frigate across the room, "All right, let's do it and pray this works. Prepare to jump out."

Having secured its allies, the Resistance frigate powered its thrusters and began to angle away from the planet. As it did, Kerensky's cloaking device went to work masking the engine particle trails and creating a subspace field which would scramble the enemy sensors. Moments later, the frigate's drive engines flared to life and sent it hurtling off into hyperspace. The two First Order destroyers activated their own hyperdrive engines and immediately gave chase locking on to what they believed to be the warp signature of the frigate. To their surprise, they were led astray and thrown completely off course.

From the bridge of the lead destroyer, the captain raised an eyebrow seeing that the navigation sensors were suddenly off and a warning klaxon began to blare. He growled and gave a shout to his crew, "Take us out of hyperspace this instant!"

Every ship captain knew that if there were errors in the hyperspace calculations, a ship flying blind could wind up running directly into all sorts of hazards like stars, planets, black holes, and the like. This was no different. No sooner did the lead ship drop out of hyperspace, they found themselves flying directly into a large barren planetoid made of rock and ice. Unfortunately, they had dropped out too late and had no time to correct their course. The destroyer smashed head on into the small planetoid and exploded into a colossal blossom of fire, mangled steel, and death. Hux's destroyer which had been following behind dropped out of hyperspace with just enough time to realize what had happened and made an abrupt emergency maneuver to avoid the same fate.

As the shaken bridge crew of the destroyer caught their breaths and took a moment to regain their senses, Hux got back up to his feet staring at the ruins of the lead destroyer they had been following. His second in command stumbled over and panted breathlessly, "General... we've been sent off course. We've lost the Resistance frigate's signal."

Hux took a moment to let that fact sink in before he violently threw his cap down on the floor. As the startled bridge crew watched, Hux stamped down on the cap with his boot and gave a furious cry of rage which echoed across the bridge and likely across the entire sector as well.

* * *

Elsewhere in the safety of the Resistance frigate, the deck crews hurried out to secure and service the docked spacecraft. Finn quickly made his way from the bridge area to the hangers. Once he reached the chaotic deck, he saw pilots getting helped out of their X-wings while the Millennium Falcon was being unloaded. He made a beeline for the loading ramp and gave a happy smile as he saw both Rey and Rose come out to meet him. Much to his surprise and bemusement, both girls hurried forward and greeted him warmly with hugs and laughs.

After climbing out of his X-wing, Poe unloaded BB-8 from his compartment and playfully tweaked the little droid's antennae before it gave a chirp and rolled forward to greet another familiar pilot who had walked over to meet them. She was an attractive woman maybe a couple years younger than Poe with an athletic build and a confident air about her. Jessika Pava removed her pilot's helmet and shook out her long dark hair before bending down to greet the droid, "Yes. Hello to you too BB-8. I hope you've been keeping my wing commander out of trouble?"

BB-8 gave an affirmative reply and a thumbs up with his lighter before rolling off to greet Rey. Jessika smiled and tucked away her gloves as Poe came over to greet her with a smile and a big friendly hug. "I think you've got it the other way around Jess. That little droid has become a one man wrecking crew."

"I'm not surprised. His owner taught him everything he knows," Jessika laughed giving him a teasing pat on the side of his face, "It's good to see you again Poe. We didn't think we'd be able to find you guys after the evacuation of D'Qar. We'll catch up later and you can tell me all about it over a meal?"

"Looking forward to it Jess," Poe nodded as she began to depart from the hangers, "I promise I'll see you and the rest of the squadron first thing after I debrief with General Organa."

Jessika nodded and gave a friendly wave before walking off to change. Poe turned back toward the Falcon and saw that Lando Calrissian had already made his way down to the hangers and was having a warm reunion with Leia Organa. The two old friends and comrades were walking arm and arm sharing a laugh while Finn was busy giving an animated account of his recent adventures to Rey and Rose. All the while, BB-8 was circling around them excitedly piping up in between comments.

Poe gave a satisfied nod to himself and turned to quietly leave the hangers as well. As he began to depart, Rey caught sight of Poe and politely excused herself from the conversation to catch up with him. She hurried across the floor and called out, "Poe! Wait a minute!"

The pilot turned and tucked his gloves away in a side pocket of his flight suit. He gave a tired little nod, "Rey. Glad to see you and the others made it off Utapau safe and sound."

"Thanks to you and Finn," she replied looking up in gratitude. "You guys really saved us back there."

She paused and spoke a little more softly, "I uh... also wanted to personally thank you for keeping your promise to me. It sounds like you and Finn were in a lot of danger out there."

"We were," Poe agreed, "But he's my friend and I can see there are a lot of people here who really care about him. I wasn't about let those people down."

He froze in surprise as Rey hesitantly stepped forward and rewarded him with a grateful hug, "Then I'm glad he's got a good friend to protect him... and that I've got one I can count on too."

"Oh, sure… don't mention it," Poe smiled in surprise as he put his arms around her and returned the hug. After a moment, she let go and pulled back wearing a sheepish expression.

"Just so you don't misunderstand me, it's not like I was showing any partial favoritism toward Finn either. I'm glad you're back too."

"Right... I got it," Poe nodded, "Thanks."

Rey cleared her throat and gave prim nod, "Great. You probably need to get back to the rest of your squadron. I should let you go now."

"Okay... see you round?" he replied in mild confusion while watching her awkwardly excuse herself and return to her younger friends. He scratched his head for a moment and shrugged it off before heading out of the main hanger bay. As far as he was concerned, these recent events had been an overall win for the Resistance. They had freed a valuable prisoner, outsmarted the First Order, and given the enemy's military forces a humiliating black eye on top of that. Bolstered by a new frigate, fresh fighters, and old trusted allies joining the cause, there was no doubt that the spark of Resistance was beginning to catch fire and it was only a matter of time before it would burn again as a bright beacon of hope for those in the galaxy desiring peace and hope for the future.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Hey everyone, thanks again for reading this short story! Hope you all enjoyed it. Maybe at some point I'll continue on with this continuity and do a few more shorts to fill in the gaps between now and the next movie. Until then!**


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